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Weekend Events: It's an Inauguration Celebration!

Plan for this landmark weekend at goSmithsonian.com and Find a complete listing of the Smithsonian's Inaugural Events.Friday, January 16: Inaugural Activities: Yoko Ono's Wish TreeCelebrate the inauguration of Barack Obama as well as your hopes and dreams for the future of our country. Come by the ...

By
Jesse Rhodes

smithsonian.com
January 16, 2009

Plan for this landmark weekend at goSmithsonian.com and Find a
complete listing of the Smithsonian's Inaugural Events.

Friday, January 16: Inaugural Activities: Yoko Ono's Wish Tree

Celebrate the inauguration of Barack Obama as well as your hopes and dreams for the future of our country. Come by the Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden to write your wishes on a piece of paper and tie them to the Wish Tree, which is part of a continuing series of artworks by Yoko Ono that encourages people to become a part of the creative process. Free.
Hirshhorn Museum, 10:00 AM-5:30 PM. Repeats January 17-20.

Kick off your inauguration celebration with this three-day festival that celebrates the music, dance and storytelling traditions of cultures the world over. Check out the event's website
here for a complete schedule or you can pick up a hard copy on site at the Welcome Center. Free.
National Museum of the American Indian. Continues January 18 and 19 and is related to the exhibition "A Century Ago... They Came As Sovereign Leaders." Read about the event that inspired this show here.

Sunday, January 18: Inaugural Activities Around the Mall

The Smithsonian has a host of multicultural celebrations happening on the Mall to commemorate the inauguration of Barack Obama.

10:00 AM:
JFK (189 min., 1991) Oliver Stone's investigation into the assassination of JFK where the Warren Report's truthfulness is overshadowed by a colorful cast of conspiracy theories.

1:30 PM:
The American President (114 min.) Widowed U.S. president Andrew Shephard falls in love with lobbyist Sydney Helen Wade—allowing his political opponents to publicly question his moral fiber and threaten his odds at being re-elected.

4:00 PM:
Dr. Strangelove (93 min., 1964) Stanley Kubrick's classic Cold War satire where Air Force General Jack D. Ripper, convinced the Communists will take over the Free World, launches a nuclear bomb raid on the Soviet Union. Will the President of the United States be able to stop the planes from dropping their deadly payload?

10 AM:
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (129 min., 1939) Naive and idealistic Jefferson Smith, leader of the Boy Rangers, discovers many of the shortcomings of the political process as his earnest goal of a National Boys' Camp leads to a conflict with the state political boss.

1 PM:
All the President's Men (138 min., 1976) Even though we now know the identity of Deep Throat, this film, the patriotism of Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein—who uncover the scams and scandals of Nixon's White House—is evergreen.

4 PM:
My Fellow Americans (101 min., 1996l) Kramer and Douglas, two former presidents from opposite ends of the political spectrum, become reluctant allies when they become the target of a conspirator in President Haney's administration.

Editor's Picks: New Releases

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